U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen wants Latin America to trade more with the U.S. in order to limit China’s dominance of the global manufacturing market.
During a speech Yellen delivered November 2 to kick off the inaugural Americas Partnership for Economic Prosperity Leaders’ Summit in Washington D.C., she said that certain South American countries have “tremendous potential benefits for fueling growth in Latin America and the Caribbean.”
According to the Associated Press, Yellen laid out her new U.S. investment plan for South America November 2. She said that Latin American businesses will have the chance to be leaders in areas like clean energy via the creation of local lithium battery production supply chains. Yellen also said that pharmaceutical and medical equipment companies will grow and meet increased demand while skilled workers will be able to manufcature chips for EVs.
The Inter-American Development Bank, one of Latin America’s biggest multilateral lenders, will support projects through grants, lending and new programs.
U.S. policymakers have expressed some concern regarding China’s influence over the bank even though the U.S. controls 30% of its voting rights while China holds less than 0.1%. Still, China maintains a large economic stake in the bank’s 48 member countries.
Inter-American Development Bank president Ilan Goldfain said that the U.S. is still the bank’s most influential member.
“Whenever we have a U.S. company in the bidding process, the probability of winning is 70% to 80%,” Goldfain said. “So, what we need is more U.S. companies involved. But if you’re not involved, this opens the door for anybody [to invest].”
Earlier in 2023, U.S. lawmakers proposed a piece of legislation that would require the Treasury Department to issue a report on China’s scope and scale of involvement in the bank every two years. The bill has not yet moved past the committee stage.
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- Source: https://www.supplychainbrain.com/articles/38422-yellen-calls-for-more-trade-between-us-and-latam-to-lessen-chinas-influence
